I'd image that no one I know is nostalgic for the old days of DOS on their computer. A cryptic command line with an arcane structure that is hard to navigate and practically required classes to learn. Now that we are using our nice graphical user interfaces, sometimes even touching them now, going back to those old, antiquated days doesn't sound like much fun.

If you do yearn for that old time experience, you can probably experience it by turning on your receiver and navigating the menu system. Screen after screen of blocky white text on a black background with no graphics at all. "User Friendly" is possibly the last description that anyone would heap upon one as well. The complexity of inputs and outputs provides a daunting experience for almost everyone. I still see units with arcane input tables that require me to find the manual to understand what is going on.

When I turn on the Sony STR-DN1040 and am greeted by a colorful, interactive full screen graphical interface, I am surprised. It is even in high definition! Someone has actually been listening to complaints from users and decided to do something about it. They are trying to make the home theater less complex than the PC of the 1980's. Is the Sony STR-DN1040 just a pretty face or does it have the brains and brawn to go along with its beauty?